Located across the street from Oakland’s Fox Theater and a few blocks from the Paramount Theater, Xolo is the perfect place for a pre-show taco or burrito. Started by the owners of Berkeley’s Taquybya, Oakland’s upscale Doña Tomas, and neighboring restaurant Flora, Xolo brings farm-to-table to the taqueria scene in Oakland. It brings to mind the old-school taqueria vibe from the 50s and 60s.

// Quesadillas Suizas, breakfast burritos, and crispy beef tacos are among the highlights at Xolo (1916 Telegraph Ave ), a Mexican taqueria from the same team behind Tacubaya and Doña Tomas. // New York export The Halal Guys (2214 Broadway) delivers with chicken, gryos, and falafel platters and sandwiches doused in its signature red and white sauces (which are now available by the bottle). // Get your hands on toothsome breakfast pastries, buttery sweets, and seasonally changing lunch sandwiches made on crusty-loafed slices at Firebrand Artisan Breads (2343 Broadway).

Pronounced “show-low,” this burrito joint is a great place to stop at if you’re seeing a show at the Fox Theater in Uptown Oakland. Located on Telegraph Avenue, Xolo is more upscale without losing its flavor (it’s like Little Chihuahua meets Loló in San Francisco). The burritos are big, so come with an appetite, and it offers quirky options, like the Machacha (stuffed with slow-cooked shredded beef, red peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese, pintos and rice) or the Hongos (sautéed crimini mushrooms, avocado salsa, black beans, rice, cheese, tomatoes and cilantro).

Another one of the well-known Mexican restaurants in downtown Oakland, Xolo Taqueria, is just a three-minute walk from 17th and Broadway. This brightly decorated hole-in-the-wall restaurant serves fresh meat, seafood, and vegetarian tacos in a variety of delicious flavors like mushroom, beef, fish, chicken, and shrimp. The old-school taqueria has a lowkey walk-up counter service where you can order off the board, grab a number and take a seat to wait for your food.

Xolo is the new Mexican restaurant from the owners of Doña Tomas and Tacubaya, and I recommend it here particularly for its vegetarian burritos. While they’re smaller and more expensive than average, they’re made with actual vegetarians in mind, not just people who want to avoid meat. The hongos (mushrooms) comes with sautéed crimini mushrooms, avocado salsa, black beans, rice, cheese, and cilantro.

Confession: we ate late-night tacos at Xolo one night after visiting a cool craft brewery bar in downtown Oakland and once again, I regretted not ordering more tacos. I can personally attest to the amazingness of the ‘vampiro’ taco. The pollo taco is equally as good.

Located in Uptown Oakland, across from the Fox Theatre, Xolo Taqueria is the place to stop for a quick bite before or after a show. On Fridays & Saturdays try the birria, a bone-in goat braised in a rich chile broth. What to order: Breakfast burrito

Xolo Taqueria's nachos are a standout dish, comprised of fresh ingredients that deliver on taste. The portion size is generous, and the cheese is consistently melted to perfection. If you're in the mood for nachos, Xolo Taqueria is the place to go.

Ricky Rodas: I ate a lot of tacos, primarily from Xolo in downtown Oakland. They have great mushroom tacos and they’re not too far from where I live.